http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Beamish/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Beamish en-us Fri, 01 Jan 2010 08:49:55 +0000 Fri, 01 Jan 2010 08:49:55 +0000 So yes. I did come back. I was very tired but then I was happy to see people. Plenty more for seeing yet mind. Matters here are as they were and I'm having no problems adjusting. I have not once said gracias by accident instead of thank you though I did once mumble perdon now I think on it. I've been a working woman for a week. I now have a telephone number praise the lord which escapes me r http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/Richmond/blog-19351.html So for my entire holiday I seem to have avoided all tropical diseases hepatitis malaria yellow fever and that common travelling illness I can only begin to spell and end begins with d ends with a there are a number of other letters in between and you have to go to the loo a lot if you have it you know. BUT I have now come down with a cold a common cold. I feel rotten and want everyone http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/blog-18130.html Back last night from the Lost City. What a place Shall I compare it to Macchu Picchu Well its smaller or at least a lot less exposed and a lot less maintained and your group are literally the only people there whereas in MP about half the world is soaking up the atmotsphere alongside you. The setting is great as it was at MP with lush mountainsides waterfalls lowlying clouds and th http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Santa-Marta/blog-17754.html Despite now having nine mosquito bites on my right hand big toe alone Not kidding Ill take a photo and this toe is no rare exception Ive decided to spend six days trekking through the Colombian jungle to the Lost City. Ive dumped all but a day of my time in Venezuela to do this. It should be good though. I wont get back until ooh Saturday so youll have to amuse yourselves for a while. http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Cartagena/blog-17074.html Ive been a little slack in writing down things Ive been doing since I got back from the jungle sorry. Let me make some effort to fill you in now.I went to the Guaysamin art gallery half of which was excellent the other half may have been but it was also closed. That was in Quito. Then I flew to Bogota on a Sunday and went straight to that horrible hostel I mentioned whose only advantage is t http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Cartagena/blog-16998.html Apropos of nothing in particular apart from the fact that Bogota has been boring cold and rainy so far and Ive just been to a couple of art galleries and played some basketball herewith the Liz Bates Official Ways To Make Friends With ForeignersAmericans Litter your conversation with words such as wicked rubbish bin swimming costume golly plasters and gumboots. They find this hilario http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/blog-16667.html No surprises there. I tried counting in the shower on the final day but gave up at 45 and I hadnt even got to my left leg which has a bumper crop. As if this werent enough I also have three splinters and also one bite on my face no less which has got a bit infected and is really rather unsightly. I also forgot to take my malaria tablet one day damn it damn it another 3 pounds down the dr http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/North/Quito/blog-16404.html Where they dont have computers. Or antidotes apparently because they would have to be refridgerated and they dont have refridgerators. So if some horrible poison frog bites you you have to get into a canoe and begin the 9 hour journey back to civilisation.Unless this happens to me Ill be back in the middle of Saturday night. Ill have seen more animals youd think Id have had enough of a http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/North/Quito/blog-15902.html I made it to that museum Museo del Banco in the end the one that was closed last time. It was ace with loads of wicked pottery and gold and also some art that was a bit more boring. I made the mistake of going at 12 without having had lunch. At about 1 I looked up from the display cases with a rumbling stomach and realised I was only about a fifth of the way through the first room of five. I http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/North/Quito/blog-15772.html For the first few days of my Galapagos trip my internal monologue was really pretty boring going something like this Oh my god this is so amazing. Oh my god this is so amazing. Oh look another one even closer. Oh my god there are about fifty more over there. Oh my this is so amazing. ... ... Oh my god I feel so ill. Oh my god I feel so ill. I think Im going to throw up. I feel so ill http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/North/Quito/blog-15613.html Back on main island again briefly today to visit the Darwin Research Station where they keep the giant tortoises and boy were they giant apart from the babies some of which were very small.Boring for you maybe but I need a record of what Ive seen. Now let me thinkWhen first arrived at harbour to go to boat sea lions and pelicans all lying aroundstanding on peoplesboats. Funny black seag http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Galapagos/blog-15117.html Bright and early tomorrow morning Ill be hailing a cab to take me to the airport clutching my binoculars and butterfly catching net. I wish I had either of these it would make me look so much more authentic. Id like to do the whole thing in the style of a 19th century lady naturalist actually with fifteen men to carry my boxes of captured animals and a parasol.I have ludicrously high hop http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/North/Quito/blog-14834.html Now I can only be away from the sea lions and iguanas for a minute but I had to come online quickly to rave. Im scrapping my no saying You Have to come here or This is the Best ever rule to say both those things and also would anyone like to sell their possessions bar snorkelling masks and underwater cameras and come and live against a cliff here with me We can eat turtles and boiled bri http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Galapagos/blog-15059.html Well school's out for me and if the truth be told I haven't actually achieved complete fluency. I still get people asking me if maybe I spent some years out of Ecuador as a child and that sort of thing. And I guess it may deteriorate to the point that when any of you see me again I know just a little bit more than the average traveller and have to rummage round in my notebook or dictionary for http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/North/Quito/blog-14641.html Last time I was in an internet cafe two days ago my Bolivian computer wouldnt support my blog entry page so perhaps Ive been a little slow with this most recent update. But whats your excuse eh You with your highspeed broadband at work at home the bulk of you. There were no messages for me when I logged on this evening. Zilcho. Rien. Nada. Most unimpressive. Well youre getting the le http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/La-Paz-Department/Isla-del-Sol/blog-12746.html Being a fourhouraday student takes up more time than you'd think. You might think it would take fur hours a day leaving twenty free. But somehow it's not like that. There's homework of course but also when you're engaged from 113 it's hard to do much either before or after. So I haven't. I only made it into Quito Old Town for the first time today. I went to a church. There are lots of the http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/North/Quito/blog-14407.html Like a mentalist I have enrolled for five fourhour Spanish lessons on five consecutive days. Four hours in a row One on one so no sitting back and thinking about netballlunchmy cat. I started yesterday and Im due there in twenty minutes. Shes going to test me. I was learning verbs in bed at 7.30 this morning. Oh my goodness.Dont worry anyone Ive already made ooh four friends. Were g http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/North/Quito/blog-14160.html Id just about cracked it on the cold bus journeys by the time I got back to La Paz on Friday morning. I wore three pairs of socks three pairs of trousers eight top half layers gloves hat two hoods and I wrapped my grey blanket alas now abandoned in La Paz round me so I was like a mummy. I also had a fat local woman sitting next to me which helped although I could have done without her http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/North/Quito/blog-14000.html Firstly the CD player and CDs were great but the batteries ran out after two albums worth. I was barely out of La Paz I just dont understand. They say very clearly that they are Panasonic Super Hyper. Panasonic are a good brand right and Super Hyper sounds like loads of power And such a good deal at 30 pence for four. The other two were in the hold of the bus inaccessible. Luckily http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/Potosi-Department/Uyuni/blog-13706.html On the bus I shall be mainly eating fruit. I wanted to buy three bananas quite a few anyway right but to make the price up to 1 boliviano 15 to the pound I had to get seven. Ditto with the oranges.I shall be listening to Cold Play Green Day American Idiot FF live at Glastonbury the BEPs and a compilation CD with Foo FightersBest of You which had been sending me wild when it came u http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/La-Paz-Department/La-Paz/blog-13188.html